The Harlem Renaissance ignited an explosion of African-American creativity in the art world. This period from the 1910's until the mid-1930’s was the first time that the descendants of formerly enslaved persons were able to freely express their ideas, thoughts, and emotions. They did this through literature, music, dance, and visual art. Just remember that it has only been about 100 years since African-Americans have been featured as more than field hands and servants in American visual art. One of the first mainstream visual representations of black culture in America were through photography found in Ebony and Jet magazines, first published in 1945 and 1951 respectively. Romare Bearden, an artist who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance and who created art until his death in 1988, was inspired by the photography of Ebony and Jet. He created beautiful collages incorporating photos cut-out of these magazines to reinterpret his view of black culture. Today, we have artists like Ebony G. Patterson and Kehinde Wiley, contemporary artists, who put persons with cocoa skin at the center of their work. They are showcasing today’s youth in artworks reminiscent of the great masters like John Singer Sargent. My teenage daughter, Faith Lindsey, is an aspiring photojournalist. I began to wonder how does my daughter see the African-American women who are cultivating and nurturing her? How would her lens capture the spirit of women she selected? Could I reinterpret her photos to give them a new meaning, similar to Bearden’s collages? Could others find strength and purpose in our visual store? This became the inspiration for Crowns: Royalty and Resilience, my focus for The Art of Goodwill - Artist Residency Program. Faith selected 8 females representing four generations. The ladies ranged in age from 15 - 84 years. She invited them to be models for her first ever photo shoot. As far as I know, the ladies were only told to wear a white top and do whatever they wanted with the rest of their look. The ladies arrived at Goodwill’s Regional Operating Facility where a room was transformed into a temporary photography studio. Faith gave a handwritten note to each woman explaining her reason for inviting her to the photo shoot. She never shared her notes with me. Over the next several days, I will share what I believe to be true about each of these women because I consider all of them to be warrior queens holding the line of defense around my daughter. My final posts related to my journey as an Art of Goodwill artists will reveal the two works created for The Art of Goodwill.
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AuthorRamona Dallum Lindsey is an artist, speaker and curious citizen who finds strength in the wisdom of her elders. Archives
February 2019
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